Wanli 1592

Chapter 324 Matteo Ricci's Meeting Ceremony

Matteo Ricci has been in China for more than ten years. He first settled in Macau, then went to Guangdong, stayed in Guangzhou for a while, and then moved to Zhaoqing. He lived in Zhaoqing for six years, during which he fully mastered the daily conversation of Chinese. and writing, established the first missionary base, and spread the knowledge of western mathematics and astronomy and geography to the local scholars, initially opened up his contacts and contacts, and also allowed the Ming scholars to come into contact with the whole world for the first time .

Later, he went to Shaozhou and established a second missionary base in Shaozhou. Here, he began to deeply explore the mysteries of Chinese society, and opened up the situation by taking advantage of scholars' curiosity about the Western world. Friends and disciples, under the introduction of Qu Taisu, Matteo Ricci entered the circle of scholars, started extensive exchanges with the Chinese, and began to grow hair and beard, pass on the clothing of Confucian scholars, abandon the clothing of monks, and further integrate into China.

During this period, he used the globes and glassware, world maps and Western-style clocks he made. These things aroused the interest of Chinese scholars. From this, Matteo Ricci made a big statement and was called "Western Confucianism". As in the previous situation, there were very few people who were really interested in Catholicism. Most scholars were only interested in the Western-style science and astronomy and geography he introduced, and tried their best to ask him for advice.

After experiencing the setbacks of missionary work, Matteo Ricci knew that if he wanted the Chinese to believe in Catholicism, he could not come directly. They have their own beliefs and beliefs, and it is not so easy to replace them. Moreover, the Chinese don’t care about religious authority. They are In a secular country, no religion can challenge China's secular power and control China's political power, and Chinese society does not accept it. After learning about this, he uses science as a means to spread Catholicism, and uses concepts such as the Jade Emperor to steal Changed the original teachings and tried to get the Chinese to accept it.

When Xiao Ruxun met Matteo Ricci, accompanied by Qu Taisu, Matteo Ricci was wearing a Confucian uniform, a Confucian crown, a long beard, and cloth shoes. The difference in pupil color is really a traditional Chinese Confucian, not a Western missionary.

In order to meet Xiao Ruxun to win Xiao Ruxun's favor, he originally planned to use methods such as presenting globes and glassware, but Qu Taisu told him that Xiao Ruxun was a general, and he might prefer firearms or Western swords. First, Matteo Ricci lamented the richness and variety of Chinese culture while preparing weapons such as pistols and muskets and Western swords.

After seeing Xiao Ruxun, without further ado, he gave a gift first, and Xiao Ruxun's eyes lit up when he saw it.

Forget about the pistol, Xiao Ruxun is not interested in the western sword. What really interests him is the long gun, which is the flintlock that Xiao Ruxun is working on but has not yet finished!
The flintlock gun should not be able to completely replace the matchlock gun at this time, and the technology is not very proficient, and even refused to use by the army generals, but now that it has the technology, Xiao Ruxun is very happy, as long as this technology is done, it can be imitated , then he naturally has a way to continue to push forward.

Overjoyed, Xiao Ruxun received Matteo Ricci and Qu Taisu, and had a cordial and friendly conversation with them.

"Mr. Matteo Ricci has been coming to my Ming Dynasty for a long time. I often hear his name in this area of ​​Guangdong. I have admired his name for a long time. When I saw him today, he is indeed extraordinary."

Xiao Ruxun poured a cup of tea for Matteo Ricci himself, and Matteo Ricci quickly stood up, responding to Xiao Ruxun's politeness with perfect Chinese etiquette.

"Don't dare, the old man is just entrusted by someone to visit the general. The general is young and promising, and his name is like thunder. The old man has heard the news that the general won a big victory in Guangdong."

Matteo Ricci looked carefully at this young Ming general. According to legend, this general defeated 20 Japanese troops and tore a country apart with only 4 men. Now he appears here for the purpose of Go to fight another battle instead of being a goodwill envoy. Such a big reputation makes the Spaniards in the Philippines very disturbed, so I found myself through the relationship in Macau. I want to visit this general and ask him about his intentions. .

Qu Taisu said that most of the generals in the Ming Dynasty were not very polite and friendly, and they were not friendly to the scholars, but especially the generals like Xiao Ruxun who were knighted for their military merits were even rarer and extremely rare in the Ming Dynasty in recent years , so his temper must be not small, and he didn't put on airs and wait for Xiao Ruxun to come to see him, but came here in person, so he knew the attitude of the scholars in this area towards this prestigious general.

However, when I actually met this general, I found that this general was unusually gentle and polite. He was wearing ordinary uniforms instead of military uniforms. What he faced was like a young scholar, not a murderous general who killed 20 enemies.

Xiao Ruxun went to Qu Taisu's side and poured him a cup of tea, Qu Taisu quickly thanked him.

"Hahaha, what a big victory, it's just the prestige of His Majesty the Emperor of our country, but Mr. Matteo Ricci and Mr. Qu, who entrusted me to come to me with such a gift? What's the importance? What about the matter?"

Xiao Ruxun sat back in her seat and looked at the two with a smile.

Matteo Ricci obviously had a good understanding of China's current social rhetoric, so he cupped his hands and said, "To tell you the truth, this old man was entrusted by the Governor of Macau, Francillo, to inquire about the general who led such a large army to Nanyang. Purpose."

Xiao Ruxun picked up the tea bowl, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile, "Purpose? The purpose is a military secret, how can it be spread out? But the Franji people in Macau are dishonest in doing business and fighting pirates. What do you care about my purpose?"

Matteo Ricci hurriedly said: "The general doesn't know that the Frangji in Macau is now under the jurisdiction of the Frangji in Luzon. The Frangji in Luzon saw a ship as big as the general. The team came here, so I was a little worried and afraid, and I didn't know what the general was here for."

Xiao Ruxun understood that the news that he led the army to the south had already reached the ears of the Spaniards in the Philippines. These guys were worried that they were attacking Burma on the surface but in fact they were attacking the Philippines. Seeing that their fleet was too large, they had no confidence to win. So I asked someone to ask about the purpose and try to avoid war.

"Luzon? I will remember that Luzon was once a vassal state of my Ming Dynasty, why did it suddenly become the Franji people? You didn't stay in the land of Taixi, and ran all the way to Nanyang. What's the matter?"

(End of this chapter)